© Brian Fluharty | 2020 Oct 25
If the 49ers decide they want to move on from Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason there’s one team that’s reportedly very interested.
Garoppolo’s old home in New England would like to see a reunion with the quarterback they traded away in 2017, according to a report by Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal.
“From what I gather from talking to people this week, over the past week, Jimmy Garoppolo still is far and away their Plan A,” Bedard said on his podcast this week. “That, if they had to draw it up, exactly the optimal situation for the Patriots for this coming season, it’s Jimmy G coming back here. And of course, that’s all dependent on the 49ers doing something.”
Many fans are not content with the 49ers’ quarterback situation, but the Patriots’ position is more dire. Cam Newton is a free agent after last year’s failed experiment, leaving Jarrett Stidham — he of zero NFL starts — as the incumbent starter, assuming the team does not re-sign Newton (which is reportedly not out of the question). Ideally, the Patriots would like to start fresh with a young quarterback like Garoppolo, a player Bill Belichick reportedly never wanted to part with in the first place.
For the 49ers, this scenario would only prove fruitful if coinciding with a move elsewhere, the most likely scenario being a trade for a quarterback that would take Garoppolo’s place, to a team that wouldn’t want Jimmy in return. There is also the possibility that the 49ers could move Garoppolo in a trade after trading up in the draft to select a quarterback, although there is belief that if the 49ers draft a quarterback they’d want him to sit behind / compete with Garoppolo for at least a season.
Regardless, it’s nice to know there is a suitor out there this interested in Garoppolo, considering the value of his stock is always up for debate, especially among those in the Bay Area.
